January 18, 2025, Kochi: The Kerela High Court ruled that magic mushrooms are not considered narcotic substances under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act).
The court granted bail to a Bengaluru man who had been held for 90 days on drug charges related to magic mushrooms. The court’s decision was based on the argument that magic mushrooms are neither scheduled narcotic nor psychotropic substances nor mixtures as defined under the NDPS Act.
Rahul Raiwas arrested by Mananthavady excise officials from Thrissiilery on October 4 with 6.59g charas, 13.2g ganja, 226g of psilocybin-containing magic mushrooms, and 50g of psilocybin-containing magic mushroom capsules.
The seized magic mushroom quantity and total weight of its capsule amounted to 276 g, but this psilocybin content the prosecution had never quantified it in the impugned mushrooms. The reference made by court is to former orders of the Karnataka and the Madras High Courts, in both of these the said view holds.
This judgment agrees with a judgment passed by the Madras High Court on November 28, 2024, wherein the court ruled that magic mushrooms are not per se contraband and are only considered as such if they contain psilocybin. According to the judgment, magic mushrooms are not a mixture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances with neutral substances and cannot be considered a mixture made through preparation as provided under the NDPS Act. Keep Reading Questiqa India & Questiqa World for more updates.
